Published On:Wednesday, September 01, 2010

EDITOR, The Tribune.

WHILE women have always been the backbone of society, this is more true today and in the Bahamas than it has ever been. Bahamian women are better educated, hold down better jobs, commit less crimes, and in general, run things.

All while having children and raising families.

In the meantime, we men are in the background dropping out of school, robbing tourists, abandoning our families, and slowly conceding the control that we don't deserve. It's no wonder that the best way to lift developing countries out of poverty is to provide education and business opportunities to women, who have been traditionally marginalised and held back by the men in their communities.

As a society, we should welcome this change to make women equal (or superior) to men. Eventually, we'll realise that it is for the betterment of ourselves and our future generations.

It may even finally convince men that they have some catching up to do.

However, it's men like Paul Kokoski that fear this change and hide behind the veil of religion to discriminate against women.

In his letter to the editor published on July 29th, he spews nonsense about women being different than men and how these differences justify discrimination by somehow emphasising the dignity of women.

Yes, women are fundamentally different than men, and they should be treated differently in certain respects (e.g. more family support, better legal protections against crimes such as rape and abuse, more respect for their role as mothers).

But their intellectual capacity and leadership capabilities are no different than men and therefore there's no basis for discrimination in these areas.

I'll concede that the church is a private institution and can choose leadership as it pleases.

But if it wants to be a force for good in the world, if it wants to help societies progress and escape crime and poverty, perhaps it could start by not considering women in leadership roles as a "grave sin."

R KNOWLES

Nassau,

August 11, 2010.